Will.i.am Concerts Setlist

William James Adams Jr., better known by his stage name will.i.am, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and music producer. He was born on March 15, 1975 in Los Angeles, California. Will.i.am grew up without a father in a hispanic neighborhood of Los Angeles. Luckily, his mother was very supportive of him and his ambitions for a music career. While attending summer school, he met Allan “apl.de.ap” Pineda, another future Black Eyed Peas member. They started performing together in L.A. clubs while they were still in high school.

In 1992, the two of them along with 2 other rappers formed the hip hop group "Atban Klann". Will.i.am went by the stage name “Will 1X” at the time. The same year, they were signed by Ruthless Records. They only recorded one album under that name, which was never released.

By 1998, Atban Klann changed their name to the now well-known "The Black Eyed Peas", and Will 1X became will.i.am. Jaime “Taboo” Gomez joined in 1995, while Stacy Ann “Fergie” Ferguson didn’t join until 2002.

The first Black Eyed Peas album came out in June 1998, with the title “Behind the Front”. It was a moderate success, peaking at the #129 spot on the Billboard 200 list. Their first major hit was the 2003 single “Where Is the Love?” from the album “Elephunk”. That album ended up selling 9 million copies in the US alone.

The Black Eyed Peas has released 8 studio albums so far, the latest being “Translation” from June 2020. Their biggest hits are the aforementioned “Where is the Love?” (2003), “Pump It” (2009), “I Gotta Feeling” (also 2009), and “RITMO (Bad Boys For Life)” featuring J Balvin (2020).

Will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo are still members of The Black Eyed Peas. Fergie was replaced by J. Rey Soul in 2017.

Will.i.am has also been working on solo projects on top of his work with the world famous hip hop group since 2001. His biggest hits as a solo artist are “Scream & Shout” featuring Britney Spears (2013) and “Feelin’ Myself” featuring Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, and French Montana (also 2013).

Also, he’s appeared as a judge and mentor on the talent contest reality show The Voice (on both the UK and the Australian version), as well as on The Voice Kids. He played a small part in the 2009 superhero movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine as well.